Apparatus for preventing the freezing of water in railway and other tanks



' (No Model.)

J. R. KINLEY.

APPARATUS FOR'PREVENTING THR FREEZING OF WATER IN RAILWAY AND OTHER" TANKS.

No. 248,099. Pam-bated Oct. 11,188

Mafia/61906.2. fmveiz/fian w W16? 1 R; uffiiaiwe ye JOSEPH R. KINLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING THE FREEZING OF WATER IN RAILWAY AND OTHER TANKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 248,099, dated October 11, 1881.

Application filed March 31, 1881.

of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore much difficulty has been experienced in rendering railway and other tanks frost-proof. made and various devices adopted for that purpose, the common practice being to maintain a constant fire in a large stove in the inclosure beneath the tank, endeavorin g thereby to keep the water in the tank above the freezing-point. This has proven not only costly but unreliable, the tanks being invariably so exposed as to freeze, notwithstanding the great amount of heat expended to prevent it. Various kinds of packing around the tank have been resorted to, but likewise to little purpose.

My invention has for its object such an application of the law of convection as when applied to the heating of water in railway and other like supply tanks, will maintain a constant and uniform current therein, and thereby convey all the heat generated directly to the interior of the tank, distributing it equally throughout the same.

It is a well known scientific fact that liquids and gases, being non-conductors, cannot well be heated like solids by the communication of heat from particle to particle. Heat, however, is diffused through them with great rapidity by a motion of their particles, which brings them successively in contact with the heated surfaces; and by this economical application of heat and the maintenance of' a uniform current in a given direction I am enabled with the smallest expenditure of fuel toprevent the freezing of water in the tanks, even when the same are exposed to the lowest temperatureof our northern latitudes. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 shows a railway-tank with substructure inclosed, and broken away to show my heating apparatus and its mode of operation. Fig. 2 represents the drum or jacket, to which heat is applied, broken away to show a coil of pipe therein.

Countless experiments have been (N0 model.)

Like letters refer to like A represents the tank with its floor a a shown in the openings, supported upon the substructure B, broken away to show its interior.

C C is an ordinary oil-stove standing upon the table D.

E E is a gas-pipe extending through the floor of the tank, near its outer circumference, downward to a point considerably below the level of thestove C C. A bend is then made in the pipe E E, and it is carried horizontally nearly to the stove, when it is bent upward, and then again bent horizon tally, when it meets the gate or coil 1) b b, Fig. 2, inclosed in the drum or jacket F. Another pipe, G G, on the opposite end of the coil, extends horizontally therefrom a few feet, and is then bent upward until it passes through the bottom of the tank at a point opposite the other end of the pipe, near the outer circumference of the tank, and as near as possible to the outlet-valve used in drawing water therefrom. Heat is applied from the stove C C to the drum F, and thence to the pipes b b b, or directly to the pipes; but I prefer the former.

The pipes 12 b b are made of copper, on account of its great conductibility. The water, being heated in the pipes b b 1), its particles expand, and being made lighter thereby they pass up the pipe G G, while the water from the pipe E E immediately passes in totake its place and a current is established through the pipes and tank. The portion of liquid which receives heat from the stove C C is thus continually diffused through the tank, and by this motion of the particles all the heat from the stove is directly communicated to the interior of the tank, and affects the entire body of water. It is obvious that this result could not be accomplished without carrying the pipe E E below the level of the coil 1) b b, to which the heat is imparted. Otherwise the tendency of the heated water would be alike in both directions; but by extending the pipe E beneath the level of the pipe G a heavier medium is constantly kept in the lower pipe, E, thereby permitting the water in the pipes b I) Z), which 'is expanded and lightened by heat, to go in an upward direction through the pipe G. Thus a constant and uniform currentis maintained,

as indicated by the arrows, so long asheat is applied to the drum F. Another advantage in thus keeping a continuous current in one and the same direction is that by placing the pipe G near the outletvalve, through which water is drawn when needed, the current of warm water, while at its highest temperature,

is brought directly and constantly in contact with the outlet-valve, thus preventing it from freezing and permitting water to be drawn therefrom, even though ice may form in other portions of the tank.

By my improved tank warming apparatus I am enabled, by from six to eight hours application of heat, (if the tank be large and full of water,) to prevent freezing for twenty-four hours thereafter.

Instead of oil,wood or other fuel may be used for heating; but I prefer the former, as it is more regular and requires but little attention.

If preferred, the pipe G may extend directly upward from the coil b b b, which latter may, if desired, be inclined from the horizontal position; or, instead of a coil, heat maybe applied directly to a section of the pipe.

It is obvious that the motion of the water itself, regardless of added heat, must tend to prevent freezing.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. An apparatus for preventing tanks from freezing, consisting, essentially, of a pipe passing from within the tank downward, then upward and over apparatus for applying heat, and thence upward again to within the tank, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In an apparatus for preventingtanks from freezing, the combination of the bent pipe E G, the coil 1) b b, and drum F, with suitable means for heating the same, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In an apparatus for preveu tin g tanks from freezing, the combination of suitable heating apparatus, with a pipe passing from within the tank downward, then upward and over or through said heating apparatus, and thence upward, and terminating in the tank in proximity to the outlet-valve, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

JOSEPH It. KINLEY.

\Vitnesses:

PLINY B. SMITH, EZRA G. VALENTINE. 

